SAN FRANCISCO—A San Francisco-bound flight came close to plunging into the Pacific Ocean after it made its departure during the midst of a storm on December 18, 2022. This incident was not reported until Sunday, February 12, by The Air Current. 

United Airlines Flight 1722 departed Kahului Airport at 2:49 p.m. then plummeted precipitously after reaching 2,200 feet above sea level — falling at a rate of close to 8,600 feet per minute — before plunging below 775 feet. 

The United Airlines Boeing 777-200 managed to recover within a time frame of 45 seconds after it began to descend and climbed back to 33,000 feet. Flight 1722 arrived at its San Francisco destination 27 minutes earlier than expected. That same plane containing 364-seats flew to Chicago, Illinois about 2 and a half hours later with no incident. 

The plane was later inspected by the Federal Aviation Administration and AirLine Pilots Association. Additional training has been given to pilots as a safety precaution.  It was later confirmed that the incident was not caused by any fault with the aircraft. Officials would not release the name of the pilot who flew that plane that day or their experience.  

The United Airlines Boeing 777-200 nearly crashed into the ocean off Maui’s north coast. According to weather reports, a flash flood warning was issued for Maui that same afternoon the flight departed. It is unclear if air traffic controllers were able to detect the aircraft’s abrupt dive. 

According to one senior safety official, a dive that was abrupt would normally prompt a call to the aircraft to ensure there was no threat of a hijacking or issues maintaining control of the plane.    

United Airlines did not report the incident to The National Safety Board considering it not eligible for the board’s reporting standards.   

This incident occurred on the same day that a Hawaiian Airlines flight departing Honolulu, Hawaii endured severe turbulence injuring 25 passengers and seriously injuring 6.